


Leapgate Ficlets

by holdouttrout



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Humor, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-02-28
Updated: 2008-02-28
Packaged: 2017-11-15 20:12:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/531234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdouttrout/pseuds/holdouttrout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the leapgate prompts that various people gave me. The first one is based on the prompt "Navigation."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Space Between

They've been prisoners for many weeks before they give up on keeping watches. They need all the sleep they can get--even Teal'c needs the nighttime to rest--so they don't drop of exhaustion during the back-breaking work of the day.  
  
Still, the raucous noises from the other prisoners and the hostile stares make Jack put Sam in the middle. She pretends not to notice, and leans her back against Teal'c's broad chest, savoring the extra warmth as she collapses into sleep, grateful not to have to force herself to stay awake a few more hours.  
  
In the early mornings, she wakes up first, finds Teal'c's arm around her and says nothing. She watches Jack breathe, wonders how long they have to hold on this time. She pushes aside all doubt of rescue and makes sure to keep an eye on the guards as they change out, hoping to see some pattern or weakness.  
  
Occasionally, when she's not paying attention to where she's looking, she catches Jack's eye, and sees her own hopelessness reflected, her own nervousness at the looks the other prisoners give her, sometimes, when they think Jack or Teal'c isn't looking. She knows they think Teal'c is the threat--he's the one they watch out for and avoid, but it's Jack who navigates the politics of the jail, keeping Sam close and Teal'c closer, making sure they get their share of what passes for food here.  
  
During the day they work, and at night they go over possible plans until they can no longer keep their eyes open. Sam wonders what they're missing that Daniel would see--what clue would help them escape, what person he'd talk to that would be the key to getting out of here. She doesn't mention it to Jack or Teal'c, but she knows they feel it, too, when they fall silent, before their breathing evens out and she falls into dreams.  
  
They always fall asleep apart and drift together during the night. Sometimes, in the morning, Sam thinks about turning over, touching a face, reassuring them, breaking their silent acceptance of the way things have to be. Other times, she thinks that maybe they fit together only when they don't think about it, and that for all their trying, there's still space between them.


	2. Patches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Westminster Dog Show. Team.

"The whippets are Monday, so we have to make sure we get to your place in time to see them."  
  
Daniel blinked. "What?"  
  
"The dog show," Vala explained patiently. "The whippets. They're my favorite."  
  
At Daniel's continued blank look, Vala sighed and shifted her posture, folding her arms. "You haven't forgotten about our team night Monday, have you?"  
  
It rang a bell.  
  
"Ah," Daniel said. "Right. And Monday is..."  
  
"Today is Friday. So you have three days to clean." Vala rolled her eyes and left Daniel's office, leaving him to wonder if there was anything else he'd forgotten recently. Like when Vala had started paying attention to dog breeding, for one.  
  
It turned out that there was no major alien invasion or intergalactic crisis scheduled for Monday, so SG-1 crowded into Daniel's apartment (clean as it always was) right on schedule. Cam and Vala made judgments about the dogs, and Sam and Daniel laughed at them while Teal'c kept his opinion to himself.  
  
The broadcast wound to a close, but the team stayed.  
  
"I can't believe you both know so much about this!" Sam said, handing a soda can to Teal'c and taking a seat with her own glass of water.  
  
Cam shrugged. "My little sister got really into it in high school. I had to listen to her enthusiastically critique every damn dog in any of the shows she entered. Some of it stuck."  
  
Daniel raised his empty glass to break into the debate. "I just don't understand why Vala knows so much about it."  
  
Vala shrugged. "I think it's interesting." She sounded nonchalant, but Daniel caught the evasion. He didn't even need to prompt her, because she unfolded her legs out of her chair and sighed. "I like dogs. I had one, once. When I was a kid. I liked him." She ended on a wistful note.  
  
It was funny, Daniel thought. Vala could tell you the most outrageous lies with a perfectly straight face, but when she was truly honest, it was unmistakable.  
  
"What was your dog called?" Teal'c asked. It was, of course, the perfect thing to ask.  
  
Vala hesitated. "Patches. Only he didn't have any."  
  
Cam smiled. Sam smirked.  
  
"I was just a kid! I didn't know any better!" Vala said defensively.  
  
"Still...Patches," Cam said, and Sam sniggered.  
  
Vala's mouth dropped open in mock affront and turned to Teal'c for support. Teal'c gave her a look that had her rolling her eyes and looking toward Daniel.  
  
Daniel shook his head. "You're something else."  
  
Vala beamed.  
  
"I had a friend who named her dog 'Cat,'" Cam offered. "Most confused canine I ever met."  
  
Sam groaned. "Not again."  
  
"What! It's true!"  
  
Daniel just shook his head. It was going to be a long night.


	3. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the prompt "Cat," for Sam and Thor.

Sam rested with her head against the cool transparant wall of the bridge, watching the optical effect of hyperspace with unfocused eyes. Even at the speeds the Asgard ships traveled, it was still going to take a few hours to return to Earth.  
  
For the first little while, Sam had tried to quiz Thor on some of the science questions she had about Asgard technology, but Thor's explanations were a bit beyond her, and after the forth failed attempt to explain, exactly, why crystal technology worked--and continued to work, for thousands upon thousands of years--they'd lapsed into silence.  
  
Sam blinked. It really wasn't fair. The first chance she'd had to really learn, and...nothing.  
  
It was always the same with aliens--either they were comparatively behind in terms of technology, or they were way ahead, almost to the point of absurdity. Just look at the Tollan.  
  
"I don't even like cats that much," Sam muttered.  
  
"Major Carter?" Thor said.  
  
Sam raised her head from the window. "Oh. I was just thinking about my cat."  
  
"I was unaware that you kept an animal," Thor said.  
  
"I don't. Not anymore. I gave him to Narrim."  
  
"I see."  
  
Sam wasn't sure how he could. "I just meant that I'm not sure why I did that. I mean, I only got a cat because--"  
  
She was lonely, and in Washington, cut off from the one thing she really wanted.  
  
She didn't say that.  
  
"Perhaps you felt that Narrim would benefit more from the animal's companionship."  
  
Sam stared at him. Thor blinked, slowly.  
  
Sam grinned. "Yeah."  
  
She thought that maybe--about some things--they understood each other perfectly.


	4. Whoa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the prompt "horse." Sam/Jack, kinda.

They stepped through the 'gate and into a full-blown party.  
  
"Whoa," Jack said, stopping at the top of the steps and surveying the chaos directly below them.  
  
There were dancers, of all shapes and sizes, most of them wearing...  
  
"Are those feathers?" Daniel asked faintly.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Jack said.  
  
"And not much else," Sam pointed out. In fact, none of the dancers was wearing anything on the top half of his or her torso.  
  
The three men looked carefully neutral and anywhere but at Sam, who just rolled her eyes.  
  
Beyond the dancers was a whole crowd of onlookers, and musicians kind of sporadically clustered in one corner by the 'gate, now beginning to climb the steps and take up positions around SG-1 as if they weren't really there. It looked almost as if they'd been occupying the platform and had evacuated just long enough to avoid the kawoosh. Not one of them stopped playing as they moved--drummers, some kind of pipes, and a few weird twangy stringed instruments  
  
A musician crowded in between Jack and Daniel, and Jack said, "Okay, we'll move."  
  
They moved down the steps and into the crowd. No one paid them any attention. Finally, they reached the edge of the group and turned to survey the party.  
  
"These people have got it down," Jack said.  
  
Sam seemed impressed as well. "It's all very colorful."  
  
"I wonder what kind of ceremony it is," Daniel mused.  
  
"Welcome, welcome!" said someone to their right. They all turned to look at the man huffing his way to them, holding two glasses in his hands as he wound his way through the crowds.  
  
"Welcome again!" he said as he reached them. " My name is Nathan. Please, be refreshed!"  
  
He thrust one of the glasses into Sam's hands, as she was standing nearest to him. She inhaled briefly and almost choked at the strong smell of alcohol.  
  
Nathan was watching them expectantly.  
  
Daniel hadn't missed Sam's reaction and said, "Er...we're explorers, and we're not supposed to--"  
  
"Ah! But it is the Sowing Festival. All must drink." He looked insistent.  
  
Jack said, "You heard him, Carter. One drink won't kill you."  
  
"This stuff might, sir," she said dryly, but took a tiny sip of the liquid. It burned behind her eyes and throat.  
  
Daniel was next. "Oh, wow," he said.  
  
Teal'c took his without any discernable change in expression, and Jack just looked amused when he drank the rest of the cup.  
  
Nathan clapped his hands. "Wonderful! Now--enjoy!"  
  
He moved back toward the crowd as quickly as he'd come. Daniel called out, "Wait--!", but Nathan just waved and kept going.  
  
They all took another look around them. No one looked like they were in charge, and everyone looked like they were too busy to bother worrying about explorers from another planet.  
  
Jack said, shrugging, "I guess we enjoy the party."  
  
Hours later, the party showed no signs of wearing down.  
  
"No one even talked at me, unless it was to shove more of that--stuff--at me!" Daniel complained.  
  
Jack looked at his watch. "Okay. Time to go home."  
  
Daniel looked over the sea of people in front of the 'gate. "If we can."  
  
Suddenly, the music stopped.  
  
SG-1 stood up, the rest of the crowd all turning to face the east.  
  
And...there was a giant horse. A giant horse bedecked by what looked like thousands of flower petals.  
  
"Oh, my god," Sam said.  
  
"That horse appears to be of an unusual size," Teal'c said.  
  
But no one else seemed perturbed by this, either. Instead, there were couples from every direction streaming toward the horse.  
  
Suddenly, Sam felt herself propelled from behind into Jack.  
  
"Ow!" she looked back to find ginning natives, shooing at her and Jack.  
  
"What--"  
  
In response, one of them pushed at her again while the other shoved at Jack. Toward the horse.  
  
"Oh, no," Jack said. "Uh uh."  
  
Sam tried to stop, but it was futile--the whole crowd seemed to be pushing them along.  
  
They stopped as soon as they were with the rest of the couples right in front of the horse. It was even more impressive up close--the back of the animal was as high as Sam's head.  
  
"Wow."  
  
And then Nathan stepped in front of it, cheerfully ignoring its massive mouth.  
  
"Wonderful! So many this year. We should have many little ones before long."  
  
Jack groaned.  
  
Sam echoed the sentiment with an "Oh no."  
  
Nathan continued on without hearing them. "Touch and receive the blessing."  
  
Again, it was almost as if they had no choice. The crowd carried them along, right past the horses' flanks, and then they were free to move through the already dispersing crowd.  
  
"I guess that was it," Sam said, as soon as they were able to stand still without being bumped every few seconds.  
  
Daniel and Teal'c rejoined them, Daniel barely holding in his laughter.  
  
Jack said, "Okay, then. Back to base."  
  
Daniel snorted. "Uh, Jack. That makes what...four time you and Sam have been married?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, Daniel."  
  
"Oh, come on! That was definitely a marriage ceremony." Daniel paused. "Or a fertility rite."  
  
Jack closed his eyes and groaned. "Daniel, so help me--  
  
"Jack, that horse was huge."  
  
"In every aspect," Teal'c supplied helpfully.  
  
"Why does this always happen to us?" Jack protested.  
  
"It would not be as amusing, O'Neill."  
  
Sam just sighed. It was going to be a long time before either of them let them forget this one.


	5. Strange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the prompt "tattoos." Sam/Jack.

"Hold still," Jack hissed.  
  
Sam hadn't realized she'd been twitching until he said something--they were both wired from not enough sleep and poor nutrition. She stilled herself with a conscious effort, taking a breath and letting it out slowly.  
  
Jack resumed his efforts, his face just inches from hers. Her forehead tickled, and Sam closed her eyes to try to shut out the feeling. Her head felt oddly light--they'd shaved off her hair before Jack started on the pseudo tattoo, and she kept feeling air on the back of her head. It was the weirdest sensation.  
  
"There. Done," Jack said, and Sam opened her eyes. He squinted at her. "Carter, you look--strange."  
  
"Strange is good," she said, and leveraged herself off the ground with an effort. She glanced at the sun--it was low, but not yet low enough. They had time to kill. "I can't believe we never thought of this before," she said. The tattoo would give an excuse for the presence of naquadah, as long as no one looked too closely. And as long as she looked different enough not to get recognized, no one would even look twice at Jack. Hopefully.  
  
"Well, we never had to think of this before," Jack said. Sam only heard a trace of the bitterness he'd held for the first few months. She thought, wryly, that if they survived this mission, they might just find some sort of peace about their situation after all.  
  
She put her hands on her back and stretched, her long robes getting caught by the wind and twisting around her legs.  
  
Jack, still sitting down, reached out and helped her move them back into place.  
  
"You should rest," he said.  
  
She gave a bitter laugh. "You need it more than I do. You were up all night."  
  
Jack made no reply.  
  
The sun hit the edge of the horizon. Sam looked down into the valley, her shadow jutting out and down away from her, pointing the way toward the goa'uld mothership.  
  
"Time to go," she said.


	6. Saga

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the prompt "underestimate." Daniel and Bra'tac.

"I do not see how we can reach them in time, Daniel Jackson," Bra'tac said.  
  
They lay on top of a small ridge, looking into a valley, watching three boys being slowly encircled by a group of Jaffa.  
  
"We've got to try."  
  
"Do or do not. There is no try."  
  
Daniel rolled his eyes. "When did Teal'c make you watch Star Wars?"  
  
Bra'tac backed away from the edge, clapping Daniel on the shoulder. "Last time I was on your planet. It is indeed a most entertaining saga."  
  
Daniel followed Bra'tac's lead, making sure to be away from the edge before standing up.  
  
"Does that mean you have a plan?"  
  
Bra'tac grinned. "Trust me."  
  
Trusting Bra'tac meant sprinting directly through the tightening group of Jaffa. The Jaffa abandoned their pursuit of the boys, running and yelling for the more valuable targets.  
  
They ran for the 'gate, Daniel just ahead of Bra'tac most of the way. When they reached the 'gate, Daniel dialed frantically while Bra'tac lay down cover with blasts from his staff weapon.  
  
The 'gate opened. Daniel crouched behind the DHD and pressed in the code to open the iris. Bra'tac looked at him, and Daniel nodded once.  
  
Bra'tac and Daniel backed toward the 'gate, firing as they went. They made it through without much difficulty, both yelling for the iris to close behind them. The metal shield shut, and a few seconds late, the 'gate disengaged.  
  
Bra'tac shook his head. "I must admit I underestimated you again, Daniel Jackson."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"I did not expect you to beat me to the 'gate."  
  
Daniel swaggered down the ramp. "Yeah, well, you're not so bad for an old guy."  
  
"When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not."  
  
"Bra'tac, you're only 139 years old."  
  
"Age matters not."


	7. Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the prompt "expertise." Jack and Sara apocaficlet.

The first time Sara saw her ex-husband shoot someone she kept running. Later, when they were safely hidden in the top of a boarded-up bell tower, she threw up.  
  
She'd grown her hair out in the years since their divorce, and he held it back for her, his other hand heavy on her shoulder. It felt like an apology, and when her stomach was empty, she turned to him, crawling into his arms like he hadn't allowed her to all those years ago, right after Charlie--  
  
She closed her eyes and let him hold her until she fell asleep.  
  
It was the end. He had called her to let her know.  
  
She remembers standing at the sliding glass door, the early spring rains falling down it like a curtain, like tears, and how she knew he spoke the truth by the way her mind went carefully blank for just a moment.  
  
She heard her voice before she'd known what she decided.  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
There was a pause. "You'd be better off not knowing."  
  
She shook her head, a futile gesture. "I don't care."  
  
He told her to meet him somewhere, and she did. She'd moved back east, but she hadn't known he'd moved that way, too. She packed a small bag with ridiculous things they discarded along the trail they made as they headed west. Always west. She remembered seeing the land from the airplane, wondering at how big it was, but now she knew how big it felt, step by step.  
  
She didn't throw up after that first time, but she couldn't bring herself to touch the extra gun he had, either. Stupid, she knew, but it didn't matter to her fingers when they started shaking at the thought. He never asked her to, either, not once.  
  
They'd live or die based on his expertise and their luck. Sara curled up next to him at night and wondered if the one was enough to balance the other.


End file.
